Celebrating World Poetry Day with Poet Martin Carter

Did you know, internationally March 21 is celebrated as World Poetry Day?

As we join the global celebration of the art, we place the spotlight on one of Guyana’s most noteworthy poets, the late Martin Wylde Carter.

Martin Carter’s works span 30 plus years.  Held in high regard as a significant contributor to Caribbean poetry, his rhetoric was formidable.

In fact,  poet Kamau Brathwaite and literary critic Gordon Rohlehr believed him to be among the forerunners of the Caribbean’s notable poets.

Carter’s poetry was politically-charged.  It articulated the turmoil in which the country was embroiled at the time.  Even though his poems were incredibly personal, his expression and mastery of the art resonated throughout the region.

Photo courtesy Peepal Tree Press

Indeed, Martin Carter is one to be celebrated for his past works and contributions to Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s literary archives.

Don’t know much about him?   Here are a few tidbits about this brilliant talent that was once our countryman.

• He was born in Georgetown, Guyana.
• Carter first published poems were in 1950.
• M. Black was a pseudonym used by the poet.
• Civil servant, school teacher and information officer were some of his occupations.
• Carter’s publications include: The Hill of Fire Glows Red (1951), The Kind Eagle and The Hidden Man (1952), Poems of Resistance from British Guiana (1954), Poems of Shape and Motion (1955), Jail Me Quickly (1963), Poems of Succession (1977), Poems of Affinity (1980), Selected Poems (1989).
• He was a writer-in-residence at the University of Essex in England.
• Carter died in 1977.

As the world celebrates World Poetry Day, we acknowledge the contributions of this son-of-the-soil, Martin Wylde Carter.

We are proud of his achievements and appreciative of his voice.

Sources: Brief Biographies, Peepal Tree Press and Poetry Foundation